Fat Pencil was asked to create a large physical map of a remote area to help illustrate sight distance, visibility, and how two hunters could have wandered off course without their guide’s knowledge.
The map needed to clearly show relevant property lines, recognizable landmarks, tree cover, and topography that would provide site context. For visibility in the courtroom, the map would need to be four feet wide by three feet high.
Google Earth and OnxMaps provided property lines and aerial images. To improve focus on the most relevant parts of the area, the 3D map was rotated away from north and tilted to use a birdseye view that made more efficient use of the 4’x3’ print area while better emphasizing the site’s topography. A dry-erase coating was added so that handwritten notes about witness locations and travel routes could be added to the map over the course of the trial, photographed, and then erased.
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Final map: The birds-eye view shows topography, context, and makes good use of space.
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A typical top-down aerial serves as a good starting point, but is harder to understand and makes poor use of space.
A more conventional north-up, top-down aerial view would have made inefficient use of space and would not clearly show the topographic nuances of the area. The final map was brightened to improve contrast with dry erase markers.
We used the map poster with dry-erase lamination in court today and received a not guilty verdict. Thanks for your work on this case, we think the map really sealed the deal for us!
Haley Olson, Strawberry Mountain Law
